Koch, Andreas and Wilkinson, M. and Grebel, E. K. and Harbeck, Daniel and Kleyna, Jan and Wyse, Rosemary F. G. and Gilmore, G. and Evans, N. W. (2005) The chemical evolution of subpopulations in the Carina dwarf spheroidal. Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, 1 (C198). pp. 134-138. ISSN 1743-9213
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
We present the observed metallicity distribution for 437 red giants in the Carina dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxy that was derived from FLAMES medium-resolution spectroscopy of the near-infrared Ca triplet (CaT). We find a mean [Fe/H] of −1.7, dex and a full spread in metallicities of at least one dex. Most of this width is due to the occurrence of three populations at different [Fe/H], which are likely to be related to the three star forming (SF) episodes that governed Carina's evolution and also correlate with peaks in the age-distribution. Both the lack of any correlation between stellar colour and metallicity and a comparison of the metallicities with chemical evolution models, which suggest a major role of infalling gas, contribute to the detailed understanding of Carina's evolutionary history. Moreover, we find a mild dependence of metallicity on radial location, reflected in a shift of the distribution's peak towards the metal poor end in the outer regions.